Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

THE HABIT LOOP

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FIGURE 6: The four stages of habit are best described as a feedback loop.
They form an endless cycle that is running every moment you are alive. This
“habit loop” is continually scanning the environment, predicting what will
happen next, trying out different responses, and learning from the results.
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In summary, the cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response,
which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately,
becomes associated with the cue. Together, these four steps form a
neurological feedback loop—cue, craving, response, reward; cue,
craving, response, reward—that ultimately allows you to create
automatic habits. This cycle is known as the habit loop.
This four-step process is not something that happens occasionally,
but rather it is an endless feedback loop that is running and active
during every moment you are alive—even now. The brain is continually
scanning the environment, predicting what will happen next, trying
out different responses, and learning from the results. The entire
process is completed in a split second, and we use it again and again
without realizing everything that has been packed into the previous
moment.
We can split these four steps into two phases: the problem phase
and the solution phase. The problem phase includes the cue and the
craving, and it is when you realize that something needs to change. The
solution phase includes the response and the reward, and it is when
you take action and achieve the change you desire.

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Problem phase
1. Cue
2. Craving
Solution phase
3. Response
4. Reward
All behavior is driven by the desire to solve a problem. Sometimes
the problem is that you notice something good and you want to obtain
it. Sometimes the problem is that you are experiencing pain and you
want to relieve it. Either way, the purpose of every habit is to solve the
problems you face.
In the table on the following page, you can see a few examples of
what this looks like in real life.
Imagine walking into a dark room and flipping on the light switch.
You have performed this simple habit so many times that it occurs
without thinking. You proceed through all four stages in the fraction of
a second. The urge to act strikes you without thinking.